Natrona County citizens may have the chance to name the future Natrona County courthouse.

County commissioners are considering holding a contest asking community members to suggest a name for the new building, which should be completed by 2009.

At their Tuesday work session, commissioners tabled choosing a name for the building, and instead talked about ways to involve the community in the process.

Commissioners said having two buildings named the Natrona County Courthouse might be confusing to the community, though they realized the obvious name was the easiest choice.

"I feel like we're naming my dog, Max," joked commissioner Matt Keating. "Let's name my dog, Max, 'Max.' Let's name the Natrona County courthouse the 'Natrona County Courthouse.'"

The new courthouse will be an expansion of the former Townsend Hotel. Construction costs are estimated at roughly $26 million, should the commission decide to finish the third and fourth floors of the hotel for circuit court judges and add a fourth courtroom.

Actual construction and site improvement costs are closer to $20 million.

Natrona County needs the courthouse to comply with the state law mandating counties provide one 12-juror courtroom for each state district judge and staff.

Besides the required courtrooms, the new courthouse will have offices for the clerk of district court, records storage and prisoner holding cells.

The current courthouse has only one full courtroom, though it has a second, smaller courtroom.

Voters twice turned down tax increases to help pay for construction, once in 2003 and again in 2004. Both taxes would have expired after the completion of the project.

The county is paying for construction with $11.2 million from a 2006 grant from the State Loan and Investment Board, plus about $4 million in savings set aside for the courthouse project.

It also has considered diverting money from other projects such as $400,000 set aside to demolish the century-old County Annex at 120 W. First St., a package of $400,000 plus $1.7 million from Optional One Percent Sales Tax revenues that were to be applied to creating parking facilities if the courthouse expansion was built immediately south of the existing courthouse, and withdrawing $2 million from the county's $3.7 million cash reserves.

Reach education reporter Jasa Santos at (307) 266-0593 or at Jasa.Santos@trib.com.